Manaus massacre a “dreadful accident”, says President Temer

Brazil's President Michel Temer said today (Jan. 5) that the government is going to spend $249 million to build at least one prison in each of the 27 Brazilian states. The funds are part of a $373.4 million transfer from the National Penitentiary Fund (FUNPEN) made by the federal government to states in the end of 2016. He referred to the prison massacre in Manaus, Amazonas, last weekend as a “dreadful accident”.

A further $46.69 million from the same fund will be used to set up mobile phone jammers in at least 30% of the prisons in each state.

Additionally, the government is going to set aside $62.25 million to build five federal penitentiaries.

Temer sent a message to the families of the victims of the massacre in Manaus: “I convey my solidarity to the families of those inmates who were killed in that dreadful accident at the Manaus prison.”

He said state officials had no “objective, clear, and definite accountability” in the clashes of crime gangs that control prisons in Amazonas state, because services there are outsourced to private third parties.

About the government's decision to build five new federal high security penitentiaries for dangerous prisoners, Temer has said “the federal government will play an active role. While public security is handled by states, this has gone beyond state boundaries. We have funds to address this issue without interfering with the states' responsibilities. We are not going to intrude, but we will be actively involved.”

The president's statements opened a meeting with top government officials to discuss security and defence issues at Planalto palace after the prison riot at Anísio Jobim prison complex (COMPAJ) in Manaus, last weekend, which left at least 56 inmates dead. It was the second-largest prison carnage in Brazil, behind only the 1992 massacre at Carandiru penitentiary in São Paulo. Four other prisoners were killed at Puraquequara prison in Manaus. The riot resulted in 184 prisoners escaping, of which 63 are reported by the Amazonas State Security Secretariat to have been recaptured.

Translated by Mayra Borges